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Can I wood chip a small garden?

  • 24-07-2011 10:46am
    #1
    fleck
    Registered Users Posts: 47 ✭


    I was thinking of putting down wood chip instead of grass in a small garden, the area is covering maybe 20 feet by 20. The idea is just put down a weed barrier and then a few inches of wood chip. I see wood chip used to keep down weeds in flower beds and used on kids playgrounds and horses gallops but not usually as the mainstay of a garden , is there any reason for this , is this an idea to avoid and why?

    cheers for any help.


Comments

  • #2
    bbam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,410 ✭✭✭bbam


    No reason why it couldn't be done but there are a few considerations...

    Cats love littering in bark mulch.. if there are cats in your area it may be a problem..
    Bark mulch composts, and will need topping up about every two years..

    That leads on to another problem I've seen a few times with your plan.. You put down the weed membrane with bark chip on top.. After a number of years it will have composted down quite a layer of real good quality soil on the top of the weed membrane.. This will grow just as serious weeds as you initially had and over such a large area may become quite a problem

    Personally I see that a deeper initial layer of mulch with no fabric a better plan, if you kill off any serious weeds first then the deeper layer will give just as good of control..

    Weed membrane I think is best suited to stone mulches or where a growing ground cover is planted through which will completely cover the area..


  • #3
    john t
    Closed Accounts Posts: 295 ✭✭john t


    It can give you a low maintenance garden, but cost wise.. You have too spray existing lawn/ garden then cover with mypex/ weed control fabric also you have approx 50sq mtrs too cover, 1 tonne bay of bark covers 10sq mtrs at approx 70euro x 5 bags= 350euro pus labour and fabric & spray..


  • #4
    MicraBoy
    Registered Users Posts: 916 ✭✭✭MicraBoy


    You could also try crumb rubber, which I have used in flower beds. I'm not sure how the cats get on with that stuff!


  • #5
    fleck
    Registered Users Posts: 47 ✭fleck


    Thanks guys, i might rethink it, i hadn't considered it would compost down. I don't want grass so i might go for paving or stones.


  • #6
    paddy147
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 15,858 ✭✭✭✭paddy147


    john t wrote: »
    It can give you a low maintenance garden, but cost wise.. You have too spray existing lawn/ garden then cover with mypex/ weed control fabric also you have approx 50sq mtrs too cover, 1 tonne bay of bark covers 10sq mtrs at approx 70euro x 5 bags= 350euro pus labour and fabric & spray..


    Where are you going with that figure??

    The OPs garden is 20 x 20 feet so where did you get 50 square meters from??




    50 x 1 meter roll of Mypex is approx 60 euro retail.Cheaper if you shop around or haggle,or if you can get it at trade price.

    Around 20 bags of Bark Mulch at 8 euro a bag is 160 euro.Enough to do the job,with possibly some left over.


    Thats 220 euro including the Mypex and not 350 euro.






    P.S-You also dont need to spray.Go to any decent hire shop and hire out a petrol powered self driving turf cutter for 40 euro,and you can take up the entire garden in a few hours.

    Even with the cost of hiring 1 out that is still only 260 euro.


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  • #7
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 48,282 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    paddy147 wrote: »
    Where are you going with that figure???:eek:

    The OPs garden is 20 x 20 FEET so where did you get 50 square meters from?????
    20 foot is just less than 7 metres.
    seven metres by seven metres is 49 square metres.
    did you think he meant 50 metres square?

    to be fair, 20ft x 20ft is just over 37sq m.


  • #8
    paddy147
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 15,858 ✭✭✭✭paddy147


    magicbastarder wrote: »
    20 foot is just less than 7 metres.
    seven metres by seven metres is 49 square metres.
    did you think he meant 50 metres square?

    to be fair, 20ft x 20ft is just over 37sq m.


    Yep just a shade over 37 square meters,and not 50 square meters.
    Thats a big difference and a difference in costings too.


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